American Spies
by histgkforfun
Summary: Jess Philips is an average girl with an extraordinary secret: her parents are spies. A mix of action, suspence, and fighting to benefit a real spy tale.
1. Chapter 1

**Prologue**

_When I brought my friends to my house for the first time, they oohed and ahhed over the trinkets placed all over my house. After I explained to them they came from all over the world, purchased by my parents on their travels, my friends loved them even more. A genuine teapot from China, a finely woven blanket from Norway, and an ivory statue from India were some of their favorites. But they didn't know the real meaning of them. _

_I was twelve when I found out. My parents didn't just travel all over the world to see the sights; they went to specific places, for specific purposes. Where the government told them to go, they went, acting as innocent tourists. At that age, as I had to battle puberty, drama at school, and wrestling with who my real friends were. To top all that off, I now had to grapple with the fact that my parents were spies. _

_We moved again when I was fifteen, making it the sixth time since I was five. I was so tired of moving and trying to make new friends that I almost gave up as I walked into Jefferson High School in Jefferson City, Virginia halfway through the school year. And here my story really begins. It is a mix of action, suspense, and, of course, fighting to befit a real spy tale. Mom dropped me off that day with a kiss and a warning. "Let no one know your parents are spies."_

**Chapter One**

**0800 Hours**

**Jefferson High School**

After the principle had given me my schedule, I walked slowly to my first class: Chemistry. _Sigh_, I thought, already bored. Dad's specialty was, in fact, chemistry, and taught me everything I knew about it. When I got my schedule, I had tried explaining to the stupid principle that I should be _at least_ in Chemistry AP, but no, sophomores couldn't take that.

I slipped into the crowed lunch room and took a seat at a nearly vacant table. The only other occupants seated there were two guys and a girl. They studied me, eyes full of questions. I could read their faces: _Why would someone want to sit with us? What is she doing here?_ That was Mom's specialty; Math and reading people. She taught me all she knew, though I wasn't nearly as good as her.

"Hi!" The girl said brightly, startling me from my thoughts. I smiled back with the same greeting. One of the boys, the one with a shock of blond hair, chewed what was in his mouth and asked me, "So, where ya' from? Ya' look like you came from up north or somp'ten." As I opened my mouth to answer, the guy sitting closest to me, the red haired one, punched the blonde in the shoulder and sighed, "Jason, quite trying to act all country. Just 'cause you were born in Oklahoma doesn't mean anything." He looked at me for the first time with a silly grin. "Don't listen to Jason. I'm Peter, and this is Ashley. So, where are you from? And what's your name?"

I found his smile quite charming, so I slowly began to relax. "My name's Jess Philips. Short for Jessie, but, well.." I trailed off, shrugging good naturedly. Jason chimed in, saying, "Yeah, I know what you mean," He rolled his eyes, "My real name is Andrew, but I don't like it that much. So I go by my middle name."

I nodded my agreement. "I was actually born in England, but moved to the States when I was five. Since then I…I kinda move a lot for my mom and dad's…job." I blushed as I stumbled over my words, but the three didn't seem to particularly care.

Ashley, with a warm smile, asked me what my schedule was. I pushed it across the table to her and she studied it. Then she squealed in delight. "We have Chemistry together! And Jason, don't you have Algebra II next period? And we all have English together! Oooh, with Mrs. _Choren_," Ashley mentioned to me slyly.

That got the three of them started on how old and batty this Mrs. Choren was, who, I later found out, disliked it when people came in the middle of a semester.


	2. Chapter 2

_Haha yeah…so this is a reaaaaaaaallllyyyy short chapter. My apologizes. Because of this terrible tragedy, I shall post another chapter momentarily. But it's short too. So don't kill me. Please. _

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**Chapter Two**

**1430 Hours**

**Mrs. Choren's English 10 AP-Prep Classroom**

"What is your name again?" Mrs. Choren peered around three-inch thick glasses and stared at me. "Jessie Philips, but I go by Jess," I said with a sigh. That had to have been the third time I told the English 10 teacher my name. _It's probably because she's so _old_, _I thought, amused. _She's gotta be at least eighty_.

"Yes, well, sit down here Tessie," Mrs. Choren indicated with a wave of her hand, "And here's a textbook for you to use. Oh and Ashley?" She called to my new-found friend, who looked up quickly from her reading. While Mrs. Choren was showing me everything I missed (and I do mean _everything_), the class was reading silently. "Make sure to show this girl where we put our homework and assignments, alright?" Ashley nodded, a twinkle in her eye as she turned to me. Pointing to various areas in the room, she whispered to me as I sat beside her, in the desk assigned, "Don't mind Mrs. Choren. She's an old coot, but is a good teacher, I promise."


	3. Chapter 3

_Soooooo sorry the chapters are so short…that's just the ways it's going right now! I have most of the other chapters written, and they get longer, I promise! But...is it suspenseful yet? *nods head* Good! That's the way a spy tale is supposed to be written. Duh. Hopefully Chapter Four will be up on Saturday…it only gets better :P_

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**Chapter Three**

**1500 Hours**

**Jefferson City**

A month later everything was settled in. My new-found friends quickly became best friends, and we made the transition to the second semester together. Mom and dad didn't receive new orders until nearly three weeks after we moved, which was definitely a record. However, after leaving that day saying they would be back after a week, at the count being three weeks, I was getting worried.

After school one day, I called my mom on our secure cell numbers, which had become a daily ritual these past two weeks. Receiving no answer, as usual, I tried my dad. After getting no answer from him, either, I walked home, deciding to use the special GPS system I had secretly installed in their phones for this very purpose. I was starting to get worried, as I hadn't heard from them in over a week.

My specialty? Technology. Anything from circuits to files; from microchips the size of your finger nail to computers used by NASA; I was the best of them all, mom and dad liked to assert. So it was no problem for me to install a simple GPS program in their spiced-up cell phones.

It was a chilly day in February, with a slight wind blowing. I shivered in my jacket, so I didn't hear the car pulling up behind me until it was too late. A squeal of tires and the opening of car doors alerted me. My heart thumping, I whirled around. Unfortunately, I was too late.

_Wham!_ Blackness crept up around my vision as I pitched forward. My head ached, and I was afraid I was about to lose consciousness from the blow to my head. I could feel my assailant digging around in my backpack, and as my eyes slowly closed, someone with a heavy accent muttered, "Let that be a lesson." Moaning, I passed out hearing the car driving away.


	4. Chapter 4

_YAY! Finally a big chapter! Poor Jess. It's only the Fourth chapter and she's already been knocked out. Oh, and by the way, all characters in this are due to my imaginative mind. I own them, actually. My idea. Mine. _

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**Chapter Four**

**1535 Hours**

**Jefferson City**

I was being chased; by who, I didn't know. I was running on a street in complete darkness, with only streetlamps shedding any light. I knew that the person wanted to give me something, but I didn't want it. He caught up with me just as I reached my house. "Let that be a lesson." He said roughly, and then I came back to consciousness.

"No!" I screamed, sitting bolt upright. I blinked; my head aching; and looked wonderingly around. I was lying in the middle of the sidewalk, my backpack still on strapped on my back. For a second I didn't know why I was in such a condition, but then it all rushed back to me. Recalling the vague threat I was given while half-out, I cautiously pulled my backpack off my back and set it in front of me. Unzipping it, I hesitantly looked in it, checking to see if anything was missing. Thankfully, my search revealed nothing gone-my books and computer were accounted for in the first and second pockets, but the third, in which I never put things in, contained a small, white, rectangular package, about the size of an envelope in length.

All of a sudden quite scared, my aching head connected the 'lesson' the man warned to the package, which could contain anything. My panicked brain thought one word: bomb. _Silly,_ I told myself sternly,_ if it were a bomb, it would've gone off long ago._

I glanced at my watch and calculated that I had been out for about half an hour. _Way too long to try and find the car_, I thought. I tried to recall every detail, but could only remember that the car was black; possibly a SUV; and that the guy who spoke to me had an accent. _Why is it so familiar?_ I searched my mind for any recognition, but came up blank.

Suddenly cold, I figured the first thing to do was to go back home and try to raise mom and dad again. Something definitely wasn't right. Then, I would see about the 'gift' from my attacker.

Picking myself up, I winced as I put swung my arm up to put my backpack on my back. Inspecting my right arm, I found a huge bruise just below my elbow. _Oooouuuuchhhh_ I thought, _I must've fallen on it pretty hard_.

Brushing it off, I took off at a run for home. I pounded down the sidewalk, my mind racing at a thousand miles an hour. I finally decided that my attack had a direct relation with mom and dad's lack of contact. That very thought made me sprint even harder.

Panting, I somehow managed to unlock the front door. Dumping my backpack on the kitchen table, I carried the little package up to my room with trembling hands.

Launching myself into my rolling chair, I swung my feet around to face my array of computers. Typing a few commands, I set the external and internal cameras to record live and checked the previously recorded ones. Satisfied that nothing had happened at my house while I was at school, I turned to a smaller, handheld device. Scrolling down the list, I took a deep breath and clicked the one entitled **Mom**. Instantly, the little GPS beamed a signal up to a satellite. It took a second, but then the map of the world came up. Imagine my shock when the red dot ended up in Russia.

Mom and dad never tell me where they are going, for "Safety issues," as dad likes to put it. That's why they would forbid this secret GPS in their phones if they knew about them. But it was for times like these I installed them.

Just in case, I did the same to dad's tracking device. Russia, just like mom's. _Or,_ I corrected myself, _their phones are_. And then it hit me. The accent of my attacker-Russian! It had to be; nothing else made sense.

My mind racing, I suddenly recalled a phone call the day before mom and dad left. Dad had answered it, his fine features darkening with every second. Then, without a word, he slammed the phone down and hurried upstairs. Returning a couple of minutes later, he had with him a paper which he showed to mom. Neither of them looked or even acknowledged me. The next day, they had left before I got home from school, leaving only a note.

Needless to say, I didn't think that call so important-until now. Spinning around to my main computer, I typed several commands to call up the phone records. A spreadsheet layout showed each call in date order, most recent first. I scrolled down a ways, looking for January 20. When I found it, I realized there had been several calls that day. Deciding that this was an emergency, I had the FBI's criminal list hacked in five minutes and plugged each of the numbers in. Three out of the four didn't have matches, but the fourth number…

"Bingo." I said aloud, reading the screen, "Leonid Ryndenko…case highly classified." But he was definitely Russian. That part wasn't blocked.

Wanting to test the limits of the FBI, I tried getting access to the Russian's file. I got the usual refusal, but teased the firewall into submitting. I was in within ten minutes. But scanning the file, I grew more and more alarmed.

My eyes shot to the little package, lying on my bed. Jumping up, I rushed over to it and ripped it open. A deliberately written piece of paper fluttered to the ground, along with two rings. Picking the latter two up, I gasped aloud when I recognized them. _Mom and dad's rings_, I thought with dismay, _they never willfully take them off, so unless they were ripped off their fingers…_

My eyes strayed to the paper. Absentmindedly putting the rings in my pocket, I picked up the paper from the floor. It was a simple letter; straight to the point.

It read: **"Your mom and dad shouldn't have gone poking their noses into stuff that isn't their business. Let this be a lesson to them. And you. Directions will follow. You are to follow them, if you want them back. ALIVE." **A small note at the bottom warned me that when the instructions come, I wasn't to follow the giver, or call the police, for the same threat.

Stunned, I sat back in my chair, at a loss of what to do. _Well,_ I finally thought after a long time, _I guess all I can do right now is wait for the next instructions._ On one note, I was glad to finally know why my parents weren't answering my calls, but on the other hand, if they really were being held, their lives were in danger. Also, the line about 'this being a lesson to me' confirmed the Russian, Leonid Ryndenko, was the writer…and my attacker.

I felt utterly hopeless. The only thing I could do was wait for the Russian to make his move.


	5. Chapter 5

_So, to make this clear…I have nothing against Russians. I promise. They're cool people, actually. At least, I think so. I've never actually MET a Russian before. That would be pretttttty awesome! If you are Russian and reading this, leave a review and be like, HEY! IM RUSSIAN! I would totally love you for life. Enjoy!_

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**Chapter Five**

**1445 Hours**

**Jefferson City Mall**

At school the next day, I was quite and thoughtful. I missed our History assignment because I was too busy thinking of when Leonid could contact me. In Spanish, Leonid's face kept flashing before my eyes. And in P.E. I realized I had forgotten gym clothes.

Ashley, noticing something was wrong, offered to take me to the mall. She, Peter, and Jason all knew about my parents being gone for so long, though not the cause. I shrugged and accepted, thinking it would do me good to have a change of scenery.

We walked the mile and a half to the big mall; me jumping at each car that passed us, ready to flee if need be. After a good ten minutes of walking, we reached the mall, where Ashley finally demanded, "Jess, what's wrong with you? You look all paranoid!" I'm pretty sure I mumbled something back in return, not ready to tell her _completely_ what was happening in my life. She sighed but didn't say anything else, thankfully.

The mall was pretty crowded for the time of day, even as we headed toward the food court. I glanced at my watch: 1445 hours. "Where should we go first?" Ashley asked me as we rounded the corner. I was just about to answer when someone behind me bumped into my back. "H-" I was about to say, when the person slipped a piece of paper into my hand. Instantly, my senses went on high alert. I whirled around and came face-to-face with Leonid Ryndenko.

His surprised face matched perfectly with the FBI picture. I felt almost certain that this man was responsible for my parent's capture, so I had to talk to him. And there was only one way to do that.

Leonid muttered an apology and tried to slip away in the crowds, but I wasn't about to let him just walk away. He was the only connection to my mom and dad.

So, taking a deep breath, "HELP! THEIF!" I screamed with all my might. Ashley, startled, looked in the direction I was pointing to. "Jess? What's seriously going on?" She tugged on my sleeve. Brushing her off, I cried for the police. "PLEASE! SOMEONE, STOP THAT RUSSIAN! CALL 911!" I shouted to the startled onlookers.

Leonid turned to face me, and a look of pure contempt flashed over his face. "You will pay." He mouthed to me. My response was to sprint after him. "Jess!" I heard Ashley, confused, call after me. Leonid whirled around and dashed off, shoving his way through the mass of people. Some of the young men in the crowd darted forward and tried to stop him, but he knocked them over like bowling pins. All the while, I kept screaming for someone to call 911.

I chased Leonid all through the mall, always close behind him. Finally, someone must've called at least mall security, because when Leonid tried to make his escape through the mall entryway, some officers apprehended him. I skidded to a stop, breathing heavily as he screamed every kind of curse word there is in Russian.

"Miss?" One of the officers approached me, "Can you tell me why you want this man arrested?" Taking a deep breath, I pointed at Leonid, "This man is the head of a conspiracy to kidnap my parents. He already has kidnapped them, and on top of that, knocked me out just yesterday. If you call the FBI, or even the police, you will see that he is wanted for attempted-and second-degree-murder, conspiracy charges, and," I looked in Leonid's angry eyes, "For spying."

The head officer looked extremely doubtful, but nonetheless reached for his radio to call the city police. Still staring at Leonid, I watched him as he resisted being put into handcuffs. Suddenly, he reared back and head-butted one officer on the chin while stabbing the other in the stomach with his elbow. Both collapsed, and Leonid, free, raced towards the exit. "No! Stop!" I shouted, and quickly ran after him. "Miss! Come back!" The head officer called, surprised, but then he saw Leonid escaping. Barking orders into his radio, he followed us both.

Leonid threw the exit doors open and slammed them shut just as I reached them. Skidding to a stop to avoid breaking my nose, I had to waste valuable time in getting the doors open again. By the time I actually got outside, Leonid was already getting in a waiting car and zooming away.

Disappointedly, I turned to go back in, when the head officer dashed up to me. Stopping beside me, he watched the car as it sped off. Grabbing his radio, he called police headquarters and asked for the Chief. Once the Chief got on, the head officer identified himself as Lieutenant Clay Matthews and reported all I had said to him. When the Chief heard that he was wanted by the FBI, he quickly became interested. "I'll be down there in five minutes," The Chief announced, and signed off. Lieutenant Matthews escorted me back inside, where his two men were ruefully picking themselves up from the ground. "Boy, if I ever see that guy again…" The officer who was elbowed muttered to himself. I gave him a sympathetic smile, knowing what he was feeling. After all, he was the one who kidnapped my parents!


	6. Chapter 6

_OH NO! THE RUSSIAN GOT AWAY! Things are really starting to heat up now. And the chapters are long, too! In Chapter six, secrets are revealed. Ok, so I got that from Star Wars. But they really are!_

_And PS, please don't kill m e for the long delay in posting this chapter….you see, Driver's Ed is such a pain….just for this, I shall upload two chapters :D_

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**Chapter Six**

**1800 Hours**

**Jefferson City Mall**

Once the police got there, they swarmed the place, closing it down and everything. My statement and story were taken down at least four times by four different FBI agents who were called in later on, including the part about my parents.

It wasn't until later that I remembered the paper Leonid had slipped me. I had a feeling I needed to keep this to myself, so I decided to wait when there was no one around to read it.

My watch read 1848 hours when the police and FBI finally said I could go. It was then I remembered Ashley. "Oh no!" I gasped, realizing that I hadn't seen her in hours. I asked each officer I came in contact with if they had seen a tall, brown-headed girl in a blue sweater and jeans, but all shrugged and said no. I was growing panicky when I recalled the look Leonid had given me, with the warning that I would pay. _With my best friend being kidnapped?_ I wondered, quite worried now.

I scoured the entire mall, looking for Ashley, but with most of the shops closed up, I couldn't find her. At a loss of what to do, I returned to my house, after telling the Chief about Ashley and my fears. He assured me that if she was still missing by this time tomorrow, he could fill out an official report. "But between you and me," He said, leaning in close and lowering his voice, "I'll have my men start to search now, ok?"

Never before had I experienced such strong helplessness. Looking at my calendar, I found that I hadn't seen my parents in just under a month. Despairingly, I threw myself down in my chair and faced the computers. The program with the recent calls was still up on one of the screens, I noticed. Then a thought occurred to me-I never did listen to the call Leonid made on January 20th.

It seemed life sprung back in me. Now that I had something to do, I was all business. Typing in some commands, I accessed our house's phone records, and then found that specific call. Clicking play, I sat back in the chair, thinking myself prepared for whatever I was to hear. That, I definitely was not.

"_Mr. and Mrs. Philips,_" The creepy voice said, "_We know that you have it. We know your secrets. We __**know who you are**__. Don't try our patience. We have means you know nothing of. It's a lost cause, my fellow spies. Yes, we know, Mr. and Mrs. Philips. Now, give us what we want. Because if you don't…we will be forced to go to your __**daughter**__. Such a sweet thing, isn't she?"_ Here, my dad interjected, "Stop! Who are you?" But the creepy voice chuckled hollowly, "_Ah, Mr. Philips, __**you know who we are. You know exactly**__."_ Then the call ended as my dad hung up.

My heart went cold, and I could barely listen to call. To hear that creepy voice mention me was completely unnerving.

Then I remembered something else. After the call, dad had gone upstairs and retrieved a sheet of paper. He and mom had studied it for a long time. _That,_ I thought excitedly, _that is the key!_

My cameras would certainly come in handy for this. Five minutes later, I had CAM1 (the kitchen) following dad and mom as they studied the paper. I watched myself as I disappeared upstairs. It sat through ten minutes of video, as they stood discussing it. Finally dad made a move to go, still holding the paper. As the CAM1 caught him going into the dining room, I figured he was going back upstairs. But after a couple of minutes passed of blank film on CAM7, I hurriedly switched to CAM3, in the dining room, and caught dad in the process of hiding the paper in, of all places, our placemat cabinet!


	7. Chapter 7

_Oooooh, what secrets do you think the hidden paper contains? The answer: after this. Haha, no, I mean later in the story. Not after this chapter. It all ties together in the end…*insert evil laugh here* And just to tell you, this is my favorite chapter... :D_

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**Chapter Seven **

**0900 Hours**

**Jefferson City**

I couldn't sleep that night. My mind was still swirling, racing at a thousand miles an hour. What did Ashley have to do with all of this? What about the paper-what secrets did it hold that Leonid was whiling to kidnap for? Why do they need _me_? All these questions, and more, remained unanswered as I slowly fell into a light, restless sleep.

I woke up with a start. My bedside clock read 0901-_drat, I'm late for school._ I thought with a sigh. _Oh well, it's Friday anyway_.

Besides, I knew I needed to talk to Ashley's parents to see if she ever showed up yesterday. If not…well, I didn't want to think about it.

After I dressed and grabbed a quick breakfast, I was about to turn the doorknob leading outside when something stopped me in my tracks. I froze as someone slipped a thick envelope underneath the door, my name written on it in big, bold letters. Before I could think, I wrenched the door wide open.

Leonid, startled, scrambled backwards down the steps. "You're supposed to be in school." He hissed as he rushed to the black SUV parked in my driveway. "Stop!" I shouted, grabbing my cell phone and calling 911. Grabbing the envelope and sticking it in my back pocket, I shut the door.

I was shouting directions to the stunned operator even as I ran to our garage. I had the garage door opened and my parent's car backing out of the driveway before the SUV had made the turn left, off my street. Normally, with only my permit, I could drive with an older adult in the passenger seat-and only then. _Well, I guess this is an emergency!_ I thought, still telling the operator which way the SUV was heading. "He's turning left onto Redbud Avenue!" I shouted, somehow managing to turn left too while holding a cell phone up to my ear.

It was a cat and mouse chase. Just as soon as I would catch up to Leonid, the SUV would put on a burst of speed, leaving me behind. It went on this way for miles; I could hear the sirens, but they never got closer as I kept yelling directions to the operator. I noticed they kept leading me further and further into the seedy section of town, but grimly kept going.

To be true, I was mad. Mad at Leonid, mad at Ashley for getting caught, and mad at my parents for being spies and dragging me into this mess. So angry was I that I missed the SUV turning off.

"No!" I cried as I flew past the right turn. "They went right! Onto Fox Trot Lane!" I yelled, slowing down so I could turn on the GPS in the car. Searching for another way to cut them off, I was so focused that I didn't even hear the car behind me.

_WHAM!_ My head shot forward and back again with amazing speed as the car hit me head-on. "AHHH!" I screamed, my forehead throbbing with pain. I could feel something liquid and warm dribbling down the side of my face and winced.

The car that hit me slowly separated itself from my car and pealed down the street. To my utter horror and anger, the black SUV had hit me-on purpose, I could tell from the smug look Leonid gave me as he motioned for the driver to keep going.

I watched the SUV driving away with a horrible feeling as my heart sunk. Now I was no closer to finding Ashley or my parents than I was a month ago.

I was so dazed that I didn't even hear the operator asking me something until she was practically screaming. "Ah-y-yes?" I murmured, feeling a bit dizzy. "Are you alright? I heard screaming, and-it sounded like a car wreck!" She cried. "The police should be there any second now-do you need a doctor?" I don't even know what I replied. I vaguely remember an officer helping me out of crumpled car before I collapsed.


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